Singing in the Aftermath
by CFenrir
Summary: After it was all over, there was nothing left to love.


Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Tsukihime or any of its characters.

Singing in the Aftermath  
>A Tsukihime Story<p>

The elevator droned on, ever upward, and its occupant rested her head on the door. Arcueid shamelessly indulged in the cool that met her forehead. She was too exhausted to even crane her neck and look at the numbers that steadily tallied above the mess that was her hair. She sighed, a miserable sound that only served to make her chest hurt on the exhale. It was a pitiful thing that she wanted the ride to last just a little longer. All she needed was just a few more minutes. Once she caught her breath, she'd make another attempt for the panel. She wasn't even sure she hit the right button anymore. She didn't even remember the room number. It might have started with six and probably had-

Steel retracted and Arcueid fell out of the elevator more than she stepped into the hallway. The doors closed behind her and she stumbled into luxury. The furnishings and regal elegance of a five-star hotel did not catch her eye. All she saw was scarlet carpet that looped around the hall and thick doors that stretched to arch across both the ceiling and floor. Her world was spinning. She swayed into a cart and stumbled passed it.

She was about to fall so the hand she shot out clawed into the wall for the sake of equilibrium, but the vertigo didn't let her go. The blonde inhaled, filling her lungs as much as she could, before she slowly let the breath go. She closed her eyes for a full second before slowly opening one, and then the other.

The hall was mercifully flat and annoyingly extravagant. It was gaudy. Apparently, three different shades of gold clearly weren't enough. With her balance back where it was supposed to be, the vampire extracted her hand. Gold leaf fluttered to the floor because of the holes she made in the wall, but she didn't notice. She stayed hunched over, and limped down the hall. "Ahh…" her voice sounded rusty, like it scrapped against the back of her throat, "what was it again…?" The hand that hovered eventually started to slide across the wall in case she needed it, "six two something—yeah, there had to be a six two in it."

Arcueid bit into her lip. She should have written the number down or something. It was just the last digit she needed, though, so it was just a process of elimination as far as she was concerned. The door in front of her was six-two-three.

It'd do.

The blonde shuffled against the wall until she reached the door. There was no need to look around because it didn't matter if someone saw her. She gripped the doorknob, and twisted it off without batting an eye. She leaned into the door and it swung inward, giving her ample time to catch a middle-aged woman playfully draping her bra over a balding man.

Arcueid took back her step, retracting it in hopes of avoiding the inevitable. The lovers froze. The thick hands stopped at mid-thigh and bra that dangled from his head fell to the floor. Surprise was fine. If they stayed stunned, if they stayed silent just long enough for her to-

"K-Kyaaaa!"

The makings of a headache stirred, but she didn't allow it. She put two fingers to her temple and massaged it, never minding the crusty blood that flaked off with the motion. She needed to shut up.

"W-Who the fuck!?"

They needed to shut up. The room started to tilt so she closed her eyes, but the noise didn't stop. The woman didn't stop screaming, and the guy was yelling some kind of threat. Ruby eyes snapped open with the promise of violence, and the doorknob was molded in her grip.

"_Shut_. _Up_."

Arcueid waited with wide eyes. She waited for any movement, any sound, and, especially, any threat. Two sets of mouths closed like they were zipped. Silence. The blonde exchanged looks with both of them. Hesitant nods came her way and she threw the hunk of metal to the side. It bounced off the wall and cracked something in the bathroom.

Six-two-four.

That was the next room so it was the next thought. It was just ahead of her, not even more than a few steps away. It was laughably close, but she was spent. The hallway started to warp again, spinning and blurring together like her consciousness was going down the drain.

Shiki needed her.

Arcueid rolled her shoulders back and rose to her full height. She calmed the breathing that was labored and wiped at her ruined clothes in a futile effort to make herself more presentable. They didn't really want Shiki. What they wanted was to see her scurrying, to see her panicking, and she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Defiance was the last thing she had left so she clung to it. She used it for support and willed one foot ahead of the other. One slid forward and then the other. She just had to keep it going, just like that.

She sincerely hoped she was at the right room.

"Open up…"

She pressed her forehead against the door, unintentionally obscuring the peep hole with her respite. Why didn't they have air-conditioning in the hallway?

"It's me."

Access was granted like she spoke magic words, but her return was without luster or fanfare. Arcueid checked her weakness at the doorway. The bodyguard that opened the door moved to the side to usher her in. He bowed, the dirty white mop that he called hair dipping below her waist as she passed him.

It was Svelten, the White Knight.

"Welcome back, Arcueid," his voice was deeper and smoother than his thin frame let on, "Altrouge requested that I ready the tea upon your return."

The blonde ignored him and walked with her head held high. She didn't give a damn about English tea and crumpets. She got what she was asked to get. "Tell her I'm done." The suite wasn't a room. It was practically an apartment. "I got what she wanted so give Shiki back."

"I'm afraid you'll have to speak to Altrouge about that," Svelten closed the door before raising a slender finger to right his glasses. He couldn't do anything for her demands, "I trust you remember where she is?"

Arcueid didn't stop walking. One foot, then the other. That's all she had to do. That's all she had to focus on. Slide the left. Slide the right. It felt like lifetimes passed before she reached the bedroom. It was just as gaudy as the rest of the hotel. The wallpaper was pinstriped in glitzy gold and bold, thick lines of red, and the carpet felt like khaki grass beneath her. The setting, though, was fleeting, something her eyes wandered over in search of the man she loved.

She found him.

"Shiki…"

Her lover was sprawled across the canopy bed, his head nested in the lap of one person she was never happy to see. Altrouge. She looked the same every time she saw her. Frilly, dark dresses that matched her hair and a smile that was much too adult for a girl that looked so young were practically her calling card. Arcueid scowled so she beamed, her smile practically dripping with delight as she took time to savor the moment. The girl casually tossed her hair over her shoulder and out of her way.

"I got what you wanted," Arcueid spat out the words as she crossed the room, "so give him back."

"Don't be so hasty, Arcueid," the Dead Apostle let her fingertips dance across the bandages wrapped around Shiki, "show me what you gathered and then we can talk."

Arcueid fished in her pocket to retrieve her handiwork and pulled them out one at a time. Torn pages of a Bible landed on the comforter, the smallest scraps slipping off the bed and waltzing to the floor. A lock of silky black kept together by a plain ribbon landed on top of the scripture. It was a small, tangible pile of misery.

"Perfect…" Altrouge nodded in approval and snapped her fingers. The drapes moved, "Fetch the tea and cookies for-"

"Altrouge, you better-"

The rest of her bodyguards chose to make their presence known.

The low growl from the other side of the room wasn't the rumble of an aftershock. Primate Murder rose from its place on the other side of the bed. It wasn't a dog. A dog was, at worst, an animal that reflected its environment. Primate Murder couldn't be restrained by its surroundings. It was always a beast, a fact proven by the fangs exposed when it snarled.

Strout, the black knight, stayed where he was near the window, but the sword he wielded for his master was unsheathed. She knew not to look at it. If she did, she would be stabbed. That much was dictated by the curse. The man that didn't like to be stared at stepped into light on account of his own volition and she could almost feel the deep, strained black of his eyes running across her body.

"I don't like to be interrupted." The master held up a hand and her underlings halted their approach. Primate Murder heeded the command in an instant, and Strout left in pursuit of the snacks she requested. "Anyhow…" she toyed with Shiki's hair, idly coiling her finger in strands of black, "it would behoove you to partake, Arcueid."

It was the kindest threat she ever received, but it was a threat nonetheless.

Arcueid bottled her feelings and fell into the chair behind her. She sunk into it, and anything resembling any poise lost on contact. It felt begrudgingly good, like the comfort betrayed her resolve. "What do you want, Altrouge?" The blonde ran a hand through her dirty hair. "I gave you want-"

"I want you to tell me about it." The woman that hated interruptions cut her off with a carefully crafted smile. "That's all. After that, you're more than free to go."

The hand that left her hair was dragged down her face in resignation, and she buried her face in her palm. Fury lit up in her heart and she smothered it. It was too late to get angry. "Where do you want me to start?"

Altrouge clapped in delight marred only by the fact that she would have loved to meet some resistance. "Hmm…" Dainty fingers touched on trophies and she made her decision. The tiny bundle of black was held up high. "Tell me about his sister. Arika, right? I had Svelten observe some of your associates, but he didn't have much to report about her."

"Akiha," Arcueid quietly corrected her. "She's proud and responsible… and she cares about Shiki a lot."

"How did you take this from her?"

Arcueid held her tongue long enough to make sure she didn't say what was really on her mind. Altrouge wasn't stupid, and, if anything, she was the authority on cutting hair. It was a question posed not for the answer, but for the feelings invoked. She asked with intentions of hurting a guilty heart and succeeded.

"I went there first because I thought she'd understand…"

Arcueid reclined in the seat, but she didn't relax. Her mind drifted, and she let it.

"Understand what?"

The response rolled in her mind before it left her mouth.

"That I needed help."

"Oh my," Altrouge leaned forward, elbows avoiding Shiki and dropping atop her knees as she broke into an even wider smile, "_you_ asked for help?"

Arcueid held her sigh, but her posture showed her fatigue. The best she could do was gloss over any weakness and describe things as loosely as she could. "Yes," she confirmed without pause, "I asked for help. I knew Akiha wasn't exactly fond of me, but she still treated me well..." A smile crept to her face in spite of the feelings that welled inside.

She didn't intend to ramble, but it was true.

That imposing expanse of land that people were so afraid of at night was the setting for so much fun, so many memories. Switching clothes with Hisui, having tea time with a disgruntled Akiha, cooking lessons with Kohaku… Reflection on better days started to cloud her thoughts so she shook them off.

Altrouge leaned back, her smug satisfaction replaced with a dip of her eyebrows and a frown so slight that it could be missed. The small bundle of hair in her grasp was not held up high again. It was merely held out, like she wanted to barter, "how did you take this from her?"

Memories of better days? Why would she want to hear about something like that? What she craved was anguish so the question she repeated wasn't simply something that demanded an answer. It was a tool, something she used to scrap away what she didn't want.

"I didn't have the time to argue so-"

"No, no…" Altrouge waved away the excess. She wanted the meat. "What did she say? What was it that made you give up trying to reason with her?"

No weakness.

Arcueid grimaced, but she didn't relent. Her mantra remained. The moment, the very instant, she showed any opening, Altrouge would all but dive into it. The so-called Princess of the Dead Apostles was the kind of monster that existed to make her absolutely miserable so there was no such thing as being too careful in her presence.

Still…

In hopes of not showing a chink in her armor, she never put it on. Her hesitation, the brief time she took to suppress any regret, was enough for Altrouge gain a foothold. Arcueid motioned to speak, but Altrouge beat her to the punch, "let me guess?" It wasn't really a request at all. "I imagine that she didn't want to help since he was practically-"

Dark red eyes flashed gold.

Both the chair and ottoman were rocked, but only her seat fell. Altrouge's tiny hand gripped Arcueid's wrist before the chair hit the floor and she twisted it, gaining leverage and pulling the claws away from her face in one, swift motion. The other hand gripped her beast by the gruff of his neck, her rule the sole reason why he didn't close the jaws that enveloped nearly half of the blonde's torso.

Primate Murder drooled on the mess that was left of her clothes and let his teeth drag across the flesh that would have been chewed had his master allowed him the pleasure. The beast retreated just as quietly as it pounced, but it opted to rest at the foot of the bed as opposed to the other side of it.

"Strout."

The blade that licked the back of Arcueid's neck was withdrawn.

"N-Next time…" Unlike Svelten, his voice matched his stature. He was wiry, and shorter than the sword he wielded. It wasn't a whiny voice, but it grated on her ears all the same. Even more annoying than his voice was that she couldn't pick up on his presence. It wasn't that he was quick. He was actually much slower than Primate Murder. It was just hard to get a feel for where he was when he barely made any sound when he moved, "next time I'll end you, Arcueid."

"Strout."

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

The sword was promptly lowered and he snapped to attention. Altrouge ignored his courtesy and gazed at him with golden eyes, "care to explain why you haven't returned with tray in hand?"

"I k-know you like three cubes of sugar, but I wasn't aware that we didn't have any so-"

"Enough." Altrouge hated excuses more than being interrupted. "Look at that sword."

"B-But I was just-"

"Strout," she released her hold on Arcueid, "don't embarrass me anymore than you already have."

The sword that was meant to keep a princess from harm was raised and neither Altrouge nor Arcueid thought to watch Strout inflict his curse on himself. It was a cruel punishment, but his immortality would see him through the worst of it.

"Well," Altrouge started, her haughty expression rooted in complete control, "now that we got-"

"Everyone is acting like he's already gone…"

Arcueid didn't retake her seat, and she didn't try to soothe the wrist that was twisted far passed the point of being broken. She focused on the man that she loved. Shiki groaned, and weakly raised a hand in her direction. She quickly reached out to grasp it, but it was slapped away just as fast.

"Don't be silly," Altrouge didn't lower the hand she used to bat Arcueid's away. It remained where it was, a caution more than it was warning, "he's just belatedly reacting to your bloodlust."

"I held Akiha down and cut her hair… She wasn't going to give it to me and I didn't have time to argue. She thought that I was lying." Arcueid sighed. The faster she finished, the faster they could leave, "she thought that I was trying to gather more materials again, that I was making the alchemist try another potion."

"She felt like it was better to just let him die."

It was an unnecessary observation, and she said it knowing that much.

"That's the story, Altrouge…" Arcueid lowered her head. What was the point of making a show of being defiant when she was already defeated? "Let me take him home and give him his medicine."

Altrouge made a gesture. Strout abruptly collapsed to his knees and planted his hands on the floor. He was released, but he had no reprieve. One stray glance from his master was all it took for him to scurry to his feet and make for the door. "You never mentioned what happened to your clothes," she wouldn't let her go just like that. "Surely the executor didn't give you _that_ much trouble?"

"Ciel..." Arcueid stared at the ripped Bible pages that had long since fallen to the carpet. "I held back, but that pile bunker..."

Getting hit by that thing was like getting simultaneously hit by two trains and getting ran over by a third. The force it generated was enough to blast her through the park, through a building, and she didn't even remember landing. When she came back to her senses, she was already stumbling towards the hotel lobby.

Altrouge shrugged. A pile bunker? Last time she saw it, it was just a halberd, "so that's it?"

"That's it," Arcueid confirmed after a slow exhale. "You wanted me to humiliate my friends and I did."

Altrouge couldn't help but grin at the accusation, "I did no such thing. I simply asked you to retrieve some things in exchange for this man that just so happened to come into my possession."

"Just let Shiki go…" What more did she want? "Please."

"I wish I could…" Altrouge briefly caressed his cheek, her fingertips trailing across his jaw before she reached for the end of his bandages. She undid them. Starting from the base of his neck, she carefully pulled a few strips away to reveal what she wanted to be seen. "Truly, I do, but I never let any of my knights go."

"No…" Arcueid cried.

"He died while you were gone, Arcueid."

The blonde sucked in a breath in hopes of saying something, anything, but she was unable to raise any denial after she saw the tiny pair of holes on the side of his neck. She simply stared, shoulders dropping and back hunching over as realization eroded any hope.

"I think he'll make for a fantastic vampire." Altrouge beamed as she rewrapped the bandages around his neck, "this will be my first time raising one from the very beginning."

"I…" The room started to swirl together, but Arcueid kept her eyes wide. The scarlet of the carpet started to move up the wall and the ceiling started to dip to the floor, but she didn't sway. She stood in the midst of her dizziness, trembling in anticipation of the pain she was about to inflict. "His humanity was the only thing he had left and _you_ took that from him."

"I took something from him?" Altrouge scoffed at the notion, "I did you a favor."

The blonde that rubbed her hand across her face stopped to glare at her antagonist through the gaps between her fingers. She couldn't be serious. "I'm four seconds away from ripping your face off, Altrouge."

There was a muted knock at the door. They ignored it. "Though I'd love to see you try," Altrouge looked her in the eyes, "would you believe me if I said I did it because I thought it'd make you happy?"

Arcueid was incredulous, so much so that she actually laughed. "Three seconds."

"You don't really want to be here. You just think you do because you're having fun right now, but this will all be gone in a blink. What were you going to do when you woke up and your friends were gone? When this man expired without you even noticing?"

"Two seconds."

"You would have gone to sleep. End of story. You don't even realize I'm giving you exactly what you want!" Her smile stretched too far, too fast. It was an inhuman expression that rose to her face as her excitement reached its peak, "this man is ours forever, and we can play together as much as we want!"

Arcueid met Primate Murder mid-leap and grabbed his maw with both hands. The same thing wouldn't work twice. She pried his mouth open and yanked as hard as she could. Flesh ripped and his jaws separated in a disgusting crack. She didn't stop. She ripped off the better part of its head, and blood exploded throughout the room.

"Strout! Svelten!"

The White Knight burst through the door and was slapped away by the carcass she turned into a weapon. A black sword dipped into her line of sight just long enough for her to notice before it sunk into her chest. She was gouged. Not just once. Not just twice. She was buried under a waterfall of blades, but a curse wouldn't stop her. Not now. She blindly reached to the side and gripped Strout by the neck. She squeezed. It snapped. She threw him on the floor and stomped on him for good measure.

Arcueid licked the blood that splattered onto her lips and retrieved the sword from her chest. She drew her arm back and threw it like a lance. It pierced Svelten in the side, but he didn't go down. He recovered, his broken glasses falling from his face as he lowered himself to the floor. She kicked the ottoman into his way and he barreled through it. Just like she thought he would. The brutal collision with Primate Murder sent both of them sprawling into and through the wall and off the sixth floor.

They'd be back and Strout wouldn't be out for long, so she didn't have much time.

"Altrouge…"

"That was splendid, Arcueid," the little girl clapped before carefully sliding from under Shiki and hopping off the bed. "Come. Let's make the most of such a pleasant night!"

Arcueid stalked towards her, her back bent and her feet dragging as she closed the distance. The curse wasn't over so she walked in the midst of raining swords. It was an illusion, but the sensation of being turned into a pincushion was very real. Still, that wasn't the reason her arm abruptly fell to the floor.

"It wouldn't have been very fun if I took all of your limbs while you were occupied, would it?" Altrouge skipped back and out of her sister's range, "I'm going to chip away at you, bit by bit, and, when I'm done, I'm going to have Svelten pack you up so I can take-"

The slash tore through her face and left four ragged trenches in its wake. Arcueid dropped her own arm and staggered forward to grab Altrouge by the hair. The Princess laughed, making a gurgling sound, as she was dragged to the floor, "This isn't the end, Arcueid! He's mine now! You're going to have to chase after me if you want him! Isn't it wonderful, sis-"

Arcueid lifted Altrouge by the hair and drove her torn up face into the carpet with enough force that the television fell off the dresser. Again, she pulled her up by the long locks of black she wrapped around her hand and, again, she slammed her into the floor. Blood splattered across the crater she made and blended into the carpet. She didn't stop. The sound of a ruined face crashing into a soaked carpet, the wet crunch of bone being broken with every impact, was like music. She listened, all the while thinking of how she was really going to make Altrouge suffer. For someone as proud as her, the best thing to do inflict a permanent injury on her pride. That much would-

Fingers dipped into her spine and, from there, moved to her shoulder blade. She was stabbed. Again. But it wasn't something as simple as being cut by a blade. It wasn't a curse. It was a different feeling altogether. The arm that she loss wasn't merely cut off. It was ended, like a line that got broken.

Like a line that got cut.

Shiki.

Arcueid stood on shaky legs. His hand slipped from her back, but not before severing another line. It didn't matter. She knew what she had to do. She dived on top of him, and he embraced her. There was no love to be shared. She bit down, crushing her mouth around his neck, and, in turn, he quietly took her apart.

Unable to even groan because of the force exerted on his throat, Shiki hands eventually slowed to a stop. Arcueid didn't let up. She couldn't leave anything behind. Not even a trace of blood. It was her fault. She swore she'd protect him, that she'd save him, and she failed, but she wouldn't allow him to become what he never wanted to be.

When Shiki stopped moving relief wasn't the wave that washed over her, but more of the tide that just barely teased her feet. She put him down before he ended up hurting anyone. He would have been grateful that she, at the very least, kept him from going out and hurting innocent people. Would he have patted her on the head like he always did when she did something she didn't want to do?

Blood dribbled down her chin after she lifted her mouth from his crushed neck. It seeped into the thick comforter, and a little pooled around his head. Arcueid craned her neck, just enough to turn a golden eye towards his bandaged face.

Nothing.

He was gone.

"Shiki…"

There were no further words. There was nothing she wanted to say, nothing she wanted to do. She didn't have any hands with which to touch him so she settled with nuzzling her head against his chest. He was cold. The tears threatened to come but she held them off. She knew it'd happened, that he'd leave her behind, but just not like this.

Arcueid allowed tired eyes to close and darkness claimed her. She could hear the wood straining, and eventually buckling, under the stress Primate Murder exerted as it climbed back into the room, most certainly with Svelten in tow. It was no use trying to listen for Strout. Either he was searching for his sword or helping his master. It didn't matter.

"Arcuied…" The singsong voice was a garbled mess that matched her broken form. The proclaimed princess rose like she was pulled up by strings and cackled as she advanced. "Let's play…"

Altrouge and her underlings steadily advanced, but Arcuied ignored them. She already resigned herself to torture. She was prepared for anything that would happen to her, but not Shiki. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wept. She could have put up with anything. She could deal with alienating her friends. She could deal with fighting Altrouge. Anything except losing him.

Now nothing mattered anymore.

Her senses dulled and her consciousness faded, ruminations of a timeless dream rapidly becoming her reality. She opted to close her eyes and settled into her memories. And she dreamed of being in love.

Fin


End file.
